Thursday, June 23, 2022

uni-polar bi-polar multi-polar

these are just words
the real world is where it's at
orbiting and then splitting apart
a converted factory bomb shelter

bitcoin shitcoin petrodollar
fill your lawn mower again before
& after the ground hog scramble
that hole in the ground might just save you

follow the river 'til you get to the fork
then take it
then there will be a forest path and another fork
take that one too

you don't need a gps to find your way home
remember all the forks that got you here
uni-polar bi-polar multi-polar
     my ass

--- e b bortz

Sunday, June 19, 2022

east fork san juan river morning

the river crackles gurgles
breath looks like steam
even in june
we will water up
in pagosa springs
watch the kids slip through the boulders
on inner tubes
there will be plenty of heat
by afternoon

the road to chimney rock
is not a straight line
but a sacred squash blossom
that may have touched you

--- e b bortz

Tuesday, June 14, 2022

earth note 860


you need to wait
for the perfect light
when it hits spider lake
it will be blue
a wall of white birch
standing reflecting
with scaly bark tamarack
homeland wetland
always calling

--- e b bortz

Monday, June 13, 2022

pre-inversion bicycling notes





















(photo by Eric Bortz)

head of the ohio river trail
there's a clearing going north
some would call west
or even a twist south
as the crow flies
but if you stick to the river
you won't get lost
unless the daydreams
overwhelm what came before them

over the next month the droplets
will gather by the river edges
silt and sumac will become
the dominant shoulders
your eyebrows may drip a ring
around your neck
but the trail will go on
aboriginal mounds 
     rising

--- e b bortz
     

Sunday, June 12, 2022

earth note 859

chimney swifts make it to the end
of the overcast
just before the rains hit
fast and clever
for a sunday morning

blue jays have taken the flight home
robins still combing the grass for worms

humans have a big cleanup
dahn at the river
     concert's over

--- e b bortz


Friday, June 10, 2022

i always felt like we were about to go into hiding


even with a million peace marchers
in washington
     moratorium day 1969
just after

ten thousand in the streets of chicago
hot august 1968
scrambling our bodies in front of the police
and national guard
their columns     clubs     bayonets
forcing our retreat
     jimmy was wise beyond his years
into the darkness of grant park
tear gas sweat clinging
     dripping down through jesus sandals
     hearts and minds

--- e b bortz 

Monday, June 06, 2022

earth note 858

i'm not sure where bigfork northern minnesota
begins or ends 
maybe best to leave it as a mystery
after all it's just a typical dot on the map
penned by some land grabber
stolen from the original
as in the indigenous
people of bigfork
never consulted
but in fact 
should be revered
with full deed of ownership or stewardship
beginning with
water     naming      and rice rights
somewhere near the junction
of a scenic highway
& a thousand lakes
and don't forget that dot

of course you know
the whole country
flows out of bigfork

--- e b bortz

Friday, June 03, 2022

i hide in the river fog

waiting
for a sign
the trees stand motionless
against end of the week traffic
rushing on
there's a taste of spring rolls
that linger
i'll keep a watch
in a new day
clearing

--- e b bortz

Wednesday, June 01, 2022

earth note 857

mourning doves speak in alto
before exchanging space on the wires

sunlight breaks through the clouds
making big moves before the rain

everyone checks the sidewalk for cracks
& new editions

if there are shadows
the words may have slipped past an empty stanza

fine print is often
left behind

books are seldom read to the end
poems are never finished

--- e b bortz